Aleks Stefanov umnikos

Introduction to Programming with ComputerCraft

This post is an introduction to three things simultaneously: the ComputerCraft mod, the Lua programming language, and programming techniques in general.

The intended audience is people who have never ever programmed and want to learn how to use ComputerCraft (or just want a fun and interactive way to get into programming as a whole).

This is neither a fast introduction nor a slow one. I will be inserting plenty of programming examples and exercises from the very start in order for the material to be easily digestible, but I will also be taking the time to explain each concept in plenty of depth before moving onto the next one. For the curious learner this will likely be the perfect pace.

The intended reading order is from start to finish (aka. this is not a reference text) while doing each exercise the moment it appears (most of them are relatively easy, the ones that aren't are explicitly marked).

SwitchCraft 3 introduction for new players

SC3 is a minecraft server built around computercraft. Apart from CC:Tweaked, Plethora, and a few homebrewed mods, there is not much else in the modpack. This gives the game a very vanilla+ feel which manages to have a rather extended endgame due to progression not being the main focus. You probably joined for the computercraft mod, and this tutorial will get to it eventually, but first let me introduce you to all (most) of the new items from all of the mods:

Computers

Computers: Blocks that execute arbitrary Lua code.

Rules:

You will be given the coordinates of the cache (aka. chest), but they will intentionally be slightly (or not so slightly) wrong. The coordinates listings will be paired with a measure of how accurate they are. (measured using chebyshev distance)

Example:
Listed coords: 100 69 420 (10 blocks accuracy)
Actual coords: 97 79 412

While searching you are not allowed to use a block scanner, chorus fruit, ender pearls, or break blocks, unless the cache specifies you may do so.

	if not chatbox.hasCapability("command") or not chatbox.hasCapability("tell") then
	error("Chatbox does not have the required permissions. Did you register the license?")
	end

	local helper = require "helper"

	-- SETUP:
	-- have a turtle with an entity sensor on its right (to detect player presence) and wireless modem on its left (for shopsync)
	-- have slots 2-16 full of dummy items (gold swords, for example), only leaving slot 1 empty
	-- and finally, place a chest below the turtle (that's where received diamonds will be stored)


	code = input("program: ")
	data = [0]

	ip = 0
	dp = 0

	input_buffer = ""

	def error(msg):

	-- A Radon layout for 1x1 monitor shops
	-- This is a modification of the default theme that comes with with Radon itself
	-- https://github.com/Allymonies/Radon

	--- Imports
	local _ = require("util.score")
	local sound = require("util.sound")
	local eventHook = require("util.eventHook")
	local renderHelpers = require("util.renderHelpers")

	-- Copyright umnikos (Alex Stefanov) 2023
	-- Licensed under MIT license
	-- Version 1.2.1

	-- CURRENTLY BUGGY, USE v1.2!
	-- https://gist.githubusercontent.com/umnikos/72d4d537822b5f347e294edda2497648/raw/ad3e070385daab08b56dfbc1c9029290612dbba1/hopper.lua

	local help_message = [[
	hopper script v1.2.1, made by umnikos

	Exchange is a programming language in which atoms traverse lines and exchange numbers.

	Atoms:
	Atoms are unordered lists of positive integers (1, 2, 3, etc.). You can create a constant stream of new empty atoms with a >> symbol at the beginning of a line, or a single empty atom with a > symbol at the beginning of the line. You can also destroy atoms with a > symbol at the end of a line.
	Example:
	>----------->
	Here an empty atom is created and then immediately destroyed.


	Numbers in atoms: __

	// ==UserScript==
	// @name Kaboom superchording
	// @namespace Kaboom
	// @match https://pwmarcz.pl/kaboom/
	// @grant none
	// @version 0.6
	// @author umnikos
	// ==/UserScript==

	// TODO:

	// ==UserScript==
	// @name Bandcamp downloader
	// @namespace Bandcamp
	// @version 1.0
	// @description Adds a download button next to songs on bandcamp.com
	// @author umnikos
	// @match http://.bandcamp.com/*
	// @license GPL3
	// @grant GM_download
	// @require https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@violentmonkey/dom@1